ESET PROTECT 8.0 Installation/Upgrade Guide

Brand: ESET

Model: PROTECT 8.0

Category: Antivirus security software

Type: Installation/Upgrade Guide

This manual is also suitable for

PROTECT 8.0—Installation/Upgrade Guide

ESET PROTECT

Installation, Upgrade and Migration Guide

Click here to display the Online help version of this document

ESET PROTECT was developed by ESET, spol. s r.o.

For more information visit https://www.eset.com

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without

permission in writing from the author.

ESET, spol. s r.o. reserves the right to change any of the described application software without prior notice.

Technical Support: https://support.eset.com

REV. 5/27/2021

1 About help 1 .....................................................................................................................................................

2 Installation/Upgrade 2 .................................................................................................................................

2.1 New features in ESET PROTECT 8.0 2 ......................................................................................................

2.2 Architecture 3 ..............................................................................................................................................

2.2.1 Server 4 ....................................................................................................................................................

2.2.2 Web Console 4 ............................................................................................................................................

2.2.3 HTTP Proxy 5 ..............................................................................................................................................

2.2.4 Agent 7 .....................................................................................................................................................

2.2.5 Rogue Detection Sensor 8 ..............................................................................................................................

2.2.6 Mobile Device Connector 9 .............................................................................................................................

2.2.7 Apache HTTP Proxy 10 ..................................................................................................................................

2.3 Diﬀerences between Apache HTTP Proxy, Mirror Tool and direct connectivity 14 ..........................

2.3.1 When to start using Apache HTTP Proxy 15 ........................................................................................................

2.3.2 When to start using Mirror Tool 15 ...................................................................................................................

3 System requirements and sizing 16 ....................................................................................................

3.1 Supported Operating Systems 16 ............................................................................................................

3.1.1 Windows 16 ...............................................................................................................................................

3.1.2 Linux 18 ....................................................................................................................................................

3.1.3 macOS 18 .................................................................................................................................................

3.1.4 Mobile 19 ..................................................................................................................................................

3.2 Supported Desktop Provisioning Environments 20 ...............................................................................

3.3 Hardware and infrastructure sizing 21 ...................................................................................................

3.3.1 Deployment recommendations 22 ...................................................................................................................

3.3.2 Deployment for 10,000 clients 24 ....................................................................................................................

3.4 Database 24 .................................................................................................................................................

3.5 Supported versions of Apache Tomcat and Java 26 ..............................................................................

3.6 Supported Web browsers, ESET security products and languages 26 ...............................................

3.7 Network 28 ...................................................................................................................................................

3.7.1 Ports used 29 .............................................................................................................................................

4 Installation process 32 ................................................................................................................................

4.1 All-in-one installation on Windows 33 .....................................................................................................

4.1.1 Install the ESET PROTECT Server 34 .................................................................................................................

4.1.2 Install ESET PROTECT Mobile Device Connector (Standalone) 44 ..............................................................................

4.2 Installation on Microsoft Azure 50 ...........................................................................................................

4.3 Component installation on Windows 50 ..................................................................................................

4.3.1 Server installation 52 ...................................................................................................................................

4.3.1.1 Server prerequisites - Windows 57 .................................................................................................................

4.3.2 Microsoft SQL Server requirements 58 ..............................................................................................................

4.3.3 MySQL Server installation and conﬁguration 58 ...................................................................................................

4.3.4 Dedicated database user account 60 ................................................................................................................

4.3.5 Agent installation 61 ....................................................................................................................................

4.3.5.1 Server-assisted Agent installation 63 .............................................................................................................

4.3.5.2 Oﬄine Agent installation 63 .........................................................................................................................

4.3.5.3 Agent uninstallation and troubleshooting 64 ....................................................................................................

4.3.5.4 ESET Remote Deployment Tool 65 .................................................................................................................

4.3.6 Web Console installation 65 ...........................................................................................................................

4.3.6.1 Install Web Console using the All-in-one installer 65 ...........................................................................................

4.3.6.2 Install Web Console manually 70 ...................................................................................................................

4.3.7 HTTP Proxy installation 71 .............................................................................................................................

4.3.8 RD Sensor installation 72 ..............................................................................................................................

4.3.8.1 RD Sensor prerequisites 72 .........................................................................................................................

4.3.9 Mirror Tool - Windows 73 ...............................................................................................................................

4.3.10 Mobile Device Connector installation 77 ...........................................................................................................

4.3.10.1 Mobile Device Connector prerequisites 79 ......................................................................................................

4.3.10.2 Mobile Device Connector activation 81 ..........................................................................................................

4.3.10.3 MDM iOS licensing funcionality 81 ................................................................................................................

4.3.10.4 HTTPS certiﬁcate requirements 81 ...............................................................................................................

4.3.11 Apache HTTP Proxy installation and cache 82 ....................................................................................................

4.3.11.1 Conﬁguration of Apache HTTP Proxy 83 .........................................................................................................

4.3.12 Squid installation on Windows and HTTP proxy cache 86 ......................................................................................

4.3.13 Oﬄine Repository 86 ..................................................................................................................................

4.3.14 Failover Cluster 88 .....................................................................................................................................

4.4 Component installation on Linux 89 ........................................................................................................

4.4.1 MySQL installation and conﬁguration 89 ............................................................................................................

4.4.2 ODBC installation and conﬁguration 91 .............................................................................................................

4.4.3 Server installation - Linux 92 ..........................................................................................................................

4.4.3.1 Server prerequisites - Linux 95 .....................................................................................................................

4.4.4 Agent installation - Linux 97 ...........................................................................................................................

4.4.4.1 Agent prerequisites - Linux 100 ....................................................................................................................

4.4.5 Web Console installation - Linux 100 ................................................................................................................

4.4.6 Proxy installation - Linux 102 .........................................................................................................................

4.4.7 RD Sensor installation and prerequisites - Linux 103 ............................................................................................

4.4.8 Mobile Device Connector installation - Linux 104 .................................................................................................

4.4.8.1 Mobile Device Connector prerequisites - Linux 106 ............................................................................................

4.4.9 Apache HTTP Proxy installation - Linux 107 ........................................................................................................

4.4.10 Squid HTTP Proxy installation on Ubuntu Server 113 ...........................................................................................

4.4.11 Mirror Tool - Linux 113 ................................................................................................................................

4.4.12 Failover Cluster - Linux 117 ..........................................................................................................................

4.5 Step-by-step ESET PROTECT Server installation on Linux 120 ............................................................

4.6 Component installation on macOS 120 ....................................................................................................

4.6.1 Agent installation - macOS 121 .......................................................................................................................

4.7 ISO image 121 ..............................................................................................................................................

4.8 DNS Service Record 122 .............................................................................................................................

4.9 Oﬄine installation scenario for ESET PROTECT 122 ..............................................................................

5 Upgrade, migration and reinstallation procedures 123 ............................................................

5.1 ESET PROTECT Components Upgrade task 125 ......................................................................................

5.2 Upgrade using the ESET PROTECT 8.0 All-in-one installer 128 ...........................................................

5.3 Upgrade infrastructure with ERA 6.5 Proxy 130 ....................................................................................

5.4 Migration from ERA 5.x 132 .......................................................................................................................

5.5 Migration from one server to another 132 .............................................................................................

5.5.1 Clean Installation - same IP address 133 ...........................................................................................................

5.5.2 Migrated Database - same/diﬀerent IP address 134 ..............................................................................................

5.6 Database Server Backup/Upgrade and ESET PROTECT Database Migration 135 .............................

5.6.1 Database Server Backup and Restore 136 .........................................................................................................

5.6.2 Database Server Upgrade 138 ........................................................................................................................

5.6.3 Migration process for MS SQL Server 138 ..........................................................................................................

5.6.4 Migration process for MySQL Server 146 ...........................................................................................................

5.6.5 Connect ESET PROTECT Server or MDM to a database 148 .....................................................................................

5.7 Migration of MDM 148 ................................................................................................................................

5.8 Upgrade ERA/ESMC installed in Failover Cluster in Windows 150 ......................................................

5.9 Upgrade Apache HTTP Proxy 150 .............................................................................................................

5.9.1 Upgrade Apache HTTP Proxy using the All-in-one installer (Windows) 151 ..................................................................

5.9.2 Upgrade Apache HTTP Proxy manually (Windows) 152 ..........................................................................................

5.10 Upgrade Apache Tomcat 153 ..................................................................................................................

5.10.1 Upgrade Apache Tomcat using the All-in-one installer (Windows) 154 .....................................................................

5.10.2 Upgrade Apache Tomcat manually (Windows) 157 .............................................................................................

5.10.3 Upgrade Apache Tomcat (Linux) 158 ..............................................................................................................

5.11 Change of ESET PROTECT Server IP address or hostname after migration 159 .............................

5.12 Upgrade ERA/ESMC installed in Failover Cluster in Linux 160 ..........................................................

6 Uninstall ESET PROTECT Server and its components 160 .......................................................

6.1 Windows - Uninstall ESET PROTECT Server and its components 160 .................................................

6.2 Linux - Upgrade, reinstall or uninstall ESET PROTECT components 162 ...........................................

6.3 macOS - Uninstall ESET Management Agent and ESET Endpoint product 163 .................................

6.4 Decommission the old ERA/ESMC/ESET PROTECT/MDM Server after migration to another server

164 ................................................................................................................................................................

7 Troubleshooting 165 ......................................................................................................................................

7.1 Upgrade ESET PROTECT components in oﬄine environment 165 .......................................................

7.2 Answers to common installation issues 166 ...........................................................................................

7.3 Log ﬁles 169 .................................................................................................................................................

7.4 Diagnostic Tool 171 ....................................................................................................................................

7.5 Problems after upgrade/migration of ESET PROTECT Server 172 .......................................................

7.6 MSI Logging 173 ..........................................................................................................................................

8 ESET PROTECT API 173 ................................................................................................................................

9 FAQ 173 ................................................................................................................................................................

10 End User License Agreement 178 .......................................................................................................

11 Privacy policy 184 ........................................................................................................................................

About help

This Installation guide was written to help with the installation and upgrade of ESET PROTECT and provides

instructions for the process.

For consistency and to help prevent confusion, the terminology used throughout this guide is based on the ESET

PROTECT parameter names. We also use a set of symbols to highlight topics of particular interest or signiﬁcance.

Note

Notes can provide valuable information, such as speciﬁc features or a link to a related topic.

Important

This requires your attention and it should not be skipped. Usually, it provides non-critical but

signiﬁcant information.

Warning

Critical information you should treat with increased caution. Warnings are placed speciﬁcally to deter

you from committing potentially harmful mistakes. Please read and understand text placed in

warning brackets, as it references highly sensitive system settings or something risky.

Example

Example scenario that describes a user case relevant for the topic where it is included. Examples are

used to explain more complicated topics.

Convention Meaning

Bold type Names of interface items such as boxes and option buttons.

Italic type Placeholders for information you provide. For example, ﬁle name or path means you type the

actual path or a name of ﬁle.

Courier New Code samples or commands

Hyperlink Provides quick and easy access to cross-referenced topics or external web location. Hyperlinks

are highlighted in blue and may be underlined.

%ProgramFiles% The Windows system directory which stores installed programs of Windows and others.

• Online Help is the primary source of help content. The latest version of Online Help will automatically be

displayed when you have a working internet connection. The ESET PROTECT online help pages include four

active tabs at the top navigation header: Installation/Upgrade, Administration, VA Deployment and SMB guide.

• Topics in this guide are divided into several chapters and sub-chapters. You can ﬁnd relevant information by

using the search ﬁeld at the top.

Important

Once you open a User Guide from the navigation bar at the top of the page, search will be limited to

the contents of that guide. For example, if you open the Administrator guide, topics from the

Installation/Upgrade and VA Deployment guides will not be included in search results.

• The ESET Knowledgebase contains answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as

recommended solutions for various issues. Regularly updated by ESET technical specialists, the

Knowledgebase is the most powerful tool for resolving various types of problems.

• The ESET Forum provides ESET users with an easy way to get help and to help others. You can post any

problem or question related to your ESET products.

• You can post your rating and/or provide a feedback on a particular topic in help: Click the Was this

information helpful? link underneath the help page.

Installation/Upgrade

ESET PROTECT is an application that allows you to manage ESET products on client workstations, servers and

mobile devices in a networked environment from one central location. With ESET PROTECT's built-in task

management system, you can install ESET security solutions on remote computers and quickly respond to new

problems and detections.

ESET PROTECT does not provide protection against malicious code by itself. Protection of your environment

depends on the presence of an ESET security solution such as ESET Endpoint Security on workstations and mobile

devices, or ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server on server machines.

ESET PROTECT is built around two primary principles:

1. Centralized management - the entire network can be conﬁgured, managed and monitored from one

place.

2. Scalability - the system can be deployed in a small network as well as in large enterprise environments.

ESET PROTECT is designed to accommodate the growth of your infrastructure.

ESET PROTECT supports the new generation of ESET security products and is also compatible with the previous

generation of products.

The ESET PROTECT help pages include a complete Installation and upgrade guide:

• Architecture of ESET PROTECT

• Installation processes

• Upgrade process

• License management

• Deployment processes and Agent deployment using GPO or SCCM

• First steps after installing ESET PROTECT

• Administration guide

New features in ESET PROTECT 8.0

Renaming of ESET Security Management Center

ESET Security Management Center was renamed "ESET PROTECT". Products and services are evolving to cover

new markets and customer needs. We have decided to rename our solution to better accommodate the current

and new capabilities that we have planned.

ESET Full Disk Encryption for macOS

We are extending platform coverage and adding FileVault (native encryption for macOS) management to increase

organizations’ data security. Learn more

Advanced functionality

Some of the new functionalities are focused on the needs of larger networks, allowing more customization. These

are all incorporated into existing user interface.

Audit Log

New functionality helps administrators identify and track activity in ESET PROTECT. Easily navigate to run tasks,

changed policies, resolved detections, added users or computers, and adjust or correct when needed. Learn more

Exclude Firewall Threats

Added the ability to exclude ﬁrewall threats from the list of detections. Learn more

Support for ESET Business Account Sites

You can now import the complete structure of your ESET Business Account, including the distribution of license

seats among the sites.

Architecture

ESET PROTECT is a new generation of remote management system. ESET PROTECT is only partially compatible

with ERA 6 and there is no backward compatibility with ERA 5. However, there is still compatibility with previous

versions of ESET security products.

With ESET PROTECT, ESET has developed a new generation of security products with a new licensing system.

To perform a complete deployment of the ESET security solutions portfolio, the following components must be

installed (Windows and Linux platforms):

• ESET PROTECT Server

• ESET PROTECT Web Console

• ESET Management Agent

The following supporting components are optional but we recommend that you install them to ensure the best

performance of the application on the network:

• Proxy

• RD Sensor

• Apache HTTP Proxy

• Mobile Device Connector

ESET PROTECT components use certiﬁcates to communicate with the ESET PROTECT Server. Read more about

certiﬁcates in ESET PROTECT in our Knowledgebase article.

Infrastructure elements overview

The table below contains an overview of the ESET PROTECT infrastructure elements and their main functions:

Functionality

ESET

PROTECT

Server

ESET

Management

Agent

ESET

security

product

HTTP Proxy ESET servers

Mobile

Device

Connector

Remote management of ESET

security products (creation of

policies, tasks, reports, etc.)

✔ x x x x x

Communication with the ESET

PROTECT Server and managing

ESET security product on the

client device

x ✔ x x x ✔

Providing updates, license

validation

x x x x ✔ x

Caching and forwarding

updates (detection engine,

installers, modules)

x x ✔ ✔ x x

Forwarding of network traﬃc

between ESET Management

Agent and ESET PROTECT

Server

x x x ✔ x x

Securing the client device x x ✔ x x x

Remote management of mobile

devices

x x x x x ✔

Server

ESET PROTECT Server is the executive application that processes all data received from clients that connect to

the Server (through the ESET Management Agent or HTTP Proxy). To correctly process data, the Server requires a

stable connection to a database server where network data is stored. We recommend that you install the database

server on a diﬀerent computer to achieve better performance.

Web Console

The ESET PROTECT Web Console is a web-based user interface that allows you to manage ESET security solutions

in your environment. It displays an overview of the status of clients on your network and can be used to deploy

ESET solutions to unmanaged computers remotely. The Web Console is accessed using your browser (see

Supported Web browsers). If you choose to make the web server accessible from the internet, you can use ESET

PROTECT from virtually any place and device.

The Web Console uses Apache Tomcat as the HTTP web server. When using the Tomcat bundled in the ESET

installer or Virtual Appliance, it only allows TLS 1.2 and 1.3 connections to the Web Console.

Note

You can install the ESET PROTECT Web Console on a diﬀerent computer than the computer where the

ESET PROTECT Server is installed.

HTTP Proxy

What is HTTP Proxy and how can it be useful?

HTTP Proxy is forwarding communication from Agents to ESET PROTECT Server in environments where Agent

machines cannot reach the Server.

What was ERA 6.x Proxy and why it was removed?

ERA Proxy allowed you to concentrate traﬃc from client Agents. It allowed multiple Agents to connect to the ERA

Proxy, which then distributed traﬃc to the ERA Server. ESET PROTECT uses a new replication protocol that allows

to forward replication over the new Proxy. ERA 6.x Proxy cannot read this protocol and therefore it cannot be used

with ESET Management Agents.

Can ERA 6.x Proxy be used with ESET PROTECT?

To a limited extent, yes. ERA 6.x Proxy can forward the communication from 6.x Agents to ESET PROTECT Server,

but ESET Management Agents cannot connect to the ERA 6.x Proxy/Server. Take this change into consideration

while upgrading your infrastructure from the 6.x version.

How does the Proxy work in ESET PROTECT?

ESET PROTECT 8 uses a customized version of Apache HTTP Proxy as the Proxy component. After a proper

conﬁguration, Apache HTTP Proxy can act as a Proxy for ESET Management Agents. The Proxy does not cache or

open the communication; it only forwards it.

Can I use a Proxy other than Apache HTTP Proxy?

Any proxy solution which fulﬁlls the following conditions can be used with ESET Management Agent:

• can forward SSL communication

• supports HTTP CONNECT

• does not use a username and password

How is the new communication protocol diﬀerent?

The ESET PROTECT Server communicates with ESET Management Agents via gRPC protocol. The communication

uses TLS and HTTP2 so it can go through Proxy servers. There are also new self-recovery features and a persistent

connection which improves overall communication performance.

What is the eﬀect on performance?

Using HTTP Proxy has no signiﬁcant impact on performance.

When should I use the Proxy?

We recommend that you use a Proxy if your infrastructure meets one or more of the following conditions:

• If your Agent machines cannot directly connect to the ESET PROTECT Server.

• If you have a remote location or branch oﬃce and want to use Proxy to handle communication:

obetween ESET PROTECT Server and Proxy

obetween Proxy and client computers in a remote location

How to set up the HTTP Proxy

To use the proxy, HTTP Proxy hostname must be set up in the Agent policy (Advanced settings > HTTP Proxy).

You can use diﬀerent proxies for caching and forwarding; see the policy settings below:

• Global Proxy - you will use a single proxy solution for both caching downloads and for forwarding Agent

communication.

• Diﬀerent Proxy Per Service -you will use separate proxy solutions for caching and for forwarding

communication.

Note

• What are other functions of Apache HTTP Proxy?

• How to upgrade an infrastructure with ERA 6.x Proxy to ESET PROTECT?

Agent

The ESET Management Agent is an essential part of ESET PROTECT. The name of the component has changed

from previous version 6.x (ERA Agent), but the Agent component is still serving the same purpose. The ESET

Management Agent is using a new, improved communication protocol.

Clients do not communicate with the ESET PROTECT Server directly, rather the Agent facilitates this

communication. The Agent collects information from the client and sends it to the ESET PROTECT Server. If the

ESET PROTECT Server sends a task for the client - it is sent to the Agent which then sends this task to the client.

To simplify implementation of the endpoint protection the stand-alone ESET Management Agent is included in the

ESET PROTECT suite. It is simple, highly modular and lightweight service covering all communication between ESET

PROTECT Server and any ESET product or operating system. Rather than communicate with the ESET PROTECT

Server directly, ESET products communicate through the Agent. Client computers that have ESET Management

Agent installed and can communicate with the ESET PROTECT Server are referred to as 'managed'. You can install

the Agent on any computer regardless of whether or not other ESET software has been installed.

The beneﬁts are:

• Easy set-up – it is possible to deploy Agent as a part of standard corporate installation.

• On-place security management – since the Agent can be conﬁgured to store several security scenarios,

reaction time to detection is signiﬁcantly lowered.

• Oﬀ-line security management – the Agent can respond to an event if it is not connected to the ESET

PROTECT Server.

Important

The communication protocol between Agent and ESET PROTECT Server does not support

authentication. Any proxy solution used for forwarding Agent communication to ESET PROTECT

Server that requires authentication will not work.

If you choose to use a non-default port for the Web Console or Agent, it may require a ﬁrewall

adjustment. Otherwise, the installation may fail.

Rogue Detection Sensor

Rogue Detection Sensor (RD Sensor) is a rogue system detector tool that searches your network for

computers. The Sensor is convenient because it can locate new computers from ESET PROTECT without the need

to search and add them manually. Discovered machines are immediately located and reported in a pre-deﬁned

report, allowing you to move them to speciﬁc static groups and proceed with management tasks.

RD Sensor is a passive listener that detects computers that are present on the network and sends information

about them to the ESET PROTECT Server. ESET PROTECT Server then evaluates whether the PCs found on the

network are unknown to ESET PROTECT Server or already managed.

Important

If there are multiple network segments, Rogue Detection Sensor must be installed separately on

each network segment to produce a comprehensive list of all devices on the whole network.

Every computer within the network structure (domain, LDAP, Windows network) is added to ESET PROTECT Server

's computers list automatically via a server synchronization task. Using RD sensor is a convenient way to ﬁnd

computers that are not in the domain or other network structure and add them to ESET PROTECT Server. RD

Sensor remembers computers that are already discovered and will not send the same information twice.

Mobile Device Connector

ESET PROTECT Mobile Device Connector is a component that allows for Mobile Device Management with ESET

PROTECT, permitting you to manage mobile devices (Android and iOS) and administer ESET Endpoint Security for

Android.

Click here to view the image larger

Note

We recommend that you deploy your MDM component on a host device separate from the one ESET

PROTECT Server is hosted on.

The recommended hardware preconditions for approximately 80 managed mobile devices are:

Hardware Recommended conﬁguration

Processor 4 cores, 2.5 GHz

RAM 4 GB (recommended)

HDD 100 GB

For more than 80 managed mobile devices, the hardware requirements are not much higher. The latency between

sending the task from the ESET PROTECT and the execution of the task on the mobile device will increase

proportionally to number of devices in your environment.

Apache HTTP Proxy

Apache HTTP Proxy is a proxy service that can be used to distribute updates to client computers. Apache HTTP

Proxy performs a similar role to the mirror server feature popular in ERA 5 and earlier.

To install Apache HTTP Proxy, read the instructions for Windows, Linux, or Virtual Appliance.

Apache HTTP Proxy functions

Function Proxy solution that provides this function

Caching of downloads and updates Apache HTTP Proxy or other proxy solution

Caching of ESET Dynamic Threat Defense results Only conﬁgured Apache HTTP Proxy

Replication ESET Management Agents' communication

with ESET PROTECT Server

Apache HTTP Proxy or other proxy solution

Caching function

Apache HTTP Proxy downloads and caches:

• ESET module updates

• Installation packages from repository servers

• Product component updates

Cached data is distributed to endpoint clients on your network. Caching can signiﬁcantly decrease internet traﬃc

on your network.

In contrast to the Mirror Tool, which downloads all available data on the ESET update servers, Apache HTTP Proxy

reduces the network load by only downloading the data requested by ESET PROTECT components or ESET endpoint

products. If an endpoint client requests an update, Apache HTTP Proxy downloads it from the ESET update servers,

saves the update to its cache directory and then serves it to the individual endpoint client. If another endpoint

client requests the same update, Apache HTTP Proxy serves the download to the client directly from its cache, so

there is no additional download from ESET update servers.

Caching for ESET Endpoint product

Caching settings of ESET Management Agent and Endpoint are not identical. ESET Management Agent can manage

settings for ESET security products at client devices. You can set up proxy for ESET Endpoint Security:

• locally from GUI

• from ESET PROTECT Web Console, using a policy (the recommended way to manage client devices

settings).

Caching results from ESET Dynamic Threat Defense

Apache HTTP Proxy can also cache results provided by ESET Dynamic Threat Defense. Caching requires speciﬁc

conﬁguration which is included in the Apache HTTP Proxy distributed by ESET. It is recommended to use caching

with ESET Dynamic Threat Defense if possible. See the service's documentation for more details.

Using Apache as HTTP Proxy for Agent - Server communication

When correctly conﬁgured, Apache HTTP Proxy can be used to collect and forward data from ESET PROTECT

components in a remote location - similarly to the function of ERA 6.x Proxy component. One proxy solution can be

used for caching updates (Apache HTTP Proxy is recommended) and another proxy for Agent - Server

communication. It is possible to use Apache HTTP Proxy for both functions at the same time, but it is not

recommended for networks with more than 10,000 client machines per proxy machine. In enterprise environments

(more than 1,000 managed computers), we recommend that you use a dedicated Apache HTTP Proxy server.

ERA 6.x Proxy component is not compatible with the ESET Management Agents. Read more about the Proxy

function.

How to set up the HTTP Proxy

To use the proxy, HTTP Proxy hostname must be set up in the Agent policy (Advanced settings > HTTP Proxy).

You can use diﬀerent proxies for caching and forwarding; see the policy settings below:

• Global Proxy - you will use a single proxy solution for both caching downloads and for forwarding Agent

communication.

• Diﬀerent Proxy Per Service -you will use separate proxy solutions for caching and for forwarding

communication.

Apache HTTP Proxy in the infrastructure

The following diagram illustrates a proxy server (Apache HTTP Proxy) that is being used to distribute ESET cloud

traﬃc to all ESET PROTECT components and ESET endpoint products.

Note

What are the diﬀerences between various Proxies?

Important

You can use a proxy chain to add another proxy service to a remote location. Note that ESET

PROTECT does not support proxy chaining when the proxies require authentication. You can use your

own transparent web proxy solution, however that may require additional conﬁguration beyond what

is mentioned here.

Note

For oﬄine detection engine updates, use the Mirror Tool (available for Windows and Linux) instead of

Apache HTTP Proxy.

Diﬀerences between Apache HTTP Proxy, Mirror Tool and direct connectivity

ESET product communication involves detection engine and program module updates as well as the exchange of

ESET LiveGrid® data (see the table below) and license information.

ESET PROTECT downloads the latest products for distribution to client computers from the repository. Once

distributed, the product is ready to be deployed on the target machine.

Once an ESET security product is installed, it must be activated, meaning the product needs to verify your license

information against the license server. After activation, detection engine and program modules are updated on a

regular basis.

ESET LiveGrid® Early Warning System helps ensure that ESET is immediately and continuously informed of new

inﬁltrations in order to quickly protect our customers. The system allows new detections to be submitted to the

ESET Research Lab, where they are analyzed and processed.

Most network traﬃc is generated by product module updates. In general, an ESET security product downloads

approximately 23.9 MB of module updates in a month.

ESET LiveGrid® data (approximately 22.3 MB) and the update version ﬁle (up to 11 kB) are the only distributed

ﬁles that cannot be cached.

There are two types of updates – level and nano updates. See our Knowledgebase article for more information

about update types.

There are 2 ways to decrease network load when distributing updates to a network of computers, Apache HTTP

Proxy or Mirror Tool (available for Windows and Linux) .

Note

Read this Knowledgebase article to set up Mirror Tool chaining (conﬁgure Mirror Tool to download

updates from another Mirror Tool).

ESET communication types

Communication

Type

Communication

Frequency

Network traﬃc

impact

Proxy-forwarded

communication

Proxy

Caching

Option1

Mirroring

Option2

Oﬄine

Environment

Option

Agent Deployment

(Push / Live

Installers from

repository)

One time Approximately

50 MB per client

YES

NO YES (GPO /

SCCM, edited

live installers)

Endpoint Installation

(Software Install

from repository)

One time Approximately

100 MB per

client

YES

NO YES (GPO /

SCCM,

installation by

package URL)

Detection engine

module / Program

Module Update

6+ times a day 23.9 MB per

month

YES YES YES YES (Oﬄine

Mirror Tool &

Custom HTTP

Server)

Update version ﬁle

update.ver

~8 times a day 2.6 MB per

month

YES NO - -

Activation /

Licensing check

4 times a day negligible YES NO NO YES (Oﬄine ﬁles

generated on

ESET Business

Account)

ESET LiveGrid®

Cloud Based

Reputation

On-the-ﬂy 11 MB per

month

YES NO NO NO

1. For proxy caching impact / beneﬁts see When to start using Apache HTTP Proxy?

2. For mirroring impact see When to start using Mirror Tool?

3. Once per installation / upgrade we recommend that you deploy one agent (one per speciﬁc version) /

endpoint initially so that the installer is cached.

4. To deploy the ESET Management Agent across a large network, see Agent deployment using GPO and

SCCM.

5. Your Initial detection engine update may be larger than normal depending on the age of the installation

package, because all newer detection engine updates and module updates will be downloaded. We

recommended to install one client initially, and let it update, so the needed detection engine and program

module updates are cached.

6. Without an internet connection, Mirror Tool cannot download detection engine updates. You can use

Apache Tomcat as an HTTP server to download updates to a directory available to the Mirror Tool (available

for Windows and Linux).

7. When checking for detection engine updates, the update.ver ﬁle is always downloaded and parsed. By

default, ESET endpoint product's scheduler is querying for a new update each hour. We assume a client

workstation is turned on 8 hours a day. The update.ver ﬁle contains approximately 11 kB.

8. Download oﬄine license ﬁles as a License Owner or Security Admin.

Note

You cannot cache updates for version 4 and 5 products using Apache HTTP Proxy. To distribute

updates for these products, use the Mirror Tool.

When to start using Apache HTTP Proxy

Based on our practical tests, we recommend that you deploy Apache HTTP Proxy if you have a network of 37 or

more computers.

Important

It is crucial for eﬀective caching that the date and time on the HTTP Proxy server is set correctly.

Diﬀerences of several minutes would cause the caching mechanism not to work eﬀectively and more

ﬁles would be downloaded than necessary.

Analysis of network bandwidth used solely by updates in a test network of 1,000 computers where several

installations and uninstallations took place showed the following:

• a single computer downloads 23.9 MB/month in updates on average if directly connected to the internet

(no Apache HTTP Proxy is used)

• using Apache HTTP Proxy, downloads for the entire network totaled 900 MB/month

A simple comparison of downloaded update data in a month using direct internet connection or Apache HTTP Proxy

in a network of computers:

Number of PCs in your corporate network 25 36 50 100 500 1,000

Direct connection to internet (MB/month) 375 900 1,250 2,500 12,500 25,000

Apache HTTP Proxy (MB/month) 30 50 60 150 600 900

When to start using Mirror Tool

If you have an oﬄine environment, meaning the computers in your network do not connect to the internet for a

prolonged period of time (months, a year) the Mirror Tool (available for Windows and Linux) is the only way to

distribute product module updates, because it downloads all available Level and Nano updates upon each new

update request if there is a new update available.

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ESET PROTECT 8.0 Installation/Upgrade Guide

Brand: ESET

Model: PROTECT 8.0

Category: Antivirus security software

Type: Installation/Upgrade Guide

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